Top Scholar

Chapter 530 Wave after wave

The destruction of Baolian Temple caused quite a stir in the capital. Led by the Western Depot, the Emperor dispatched a special force of imperial guards to suppress the attack. Those mad monks even dared to use muskets to resist—truly utterly insane!
But given the rampant tyranny and numerous major crimes committed by the Eastern and Western Depots at the time, everyone thought this was just an isolated incident, and no one expected it to be the beginning of a storm...

As instructed by Su Lu, the interrogation of the monks of Baolian Temple by the Western Depot was conducted in secret. Other temples were on edge for a while, but when nothing came of it, they relaxed and assumed it was just a false alarm.

Su Lu did indeed extricate himself from the case and began to busy himself with the graduation ceremony of the Dragon Tiger Class.

He was to design graduation gifts and certificates for the emperor to bestow upon his students... He even specially carved a plaque for each of them that read "Disciple of the Emperor," so that they could hang it in front of the hall and always remember whose disciple they were and to whom they should serve.

After ten days of hard work, everything was finally completed two days before the ceremony.

Just as Su Lu was about to catch his breath, he discovered that another Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) was absent without cause during roll call the next day.

"Where is Brother Binyang?" Su Lu glanced around the hall, not seeing his fellow Shandong native Lu Ying, and then turned to the other Shandong scholars to ask, "Is he ill?"

“I don’t know,” his fellow villager Wang Kezhang said with a worried look. “He went to investigate Guanghui Temple yesterday and hasn’t come back since.”

Su Lu frowned: "If that's the case, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

“We only discovered it this morning and were just about to report it,” said several Shandong scholars.

"Did he bring any men with him?" Su Lu asked.

“He did take two servants with him,” Wang Kezhang said. “But the servants didn’t come back either.”

Another person added, "Binyang has been to Guanghui Temple several times to write his report."

“It’s precisely because we’ve been there so many times that something bad might happen!” Su Lu said decisively. “Everyone, let’s start class first. You few come with me to Brother Binyang’s place and see if there are any clues.”

"Yes," everyone replied hastily.

Su Lu immediately led a group of Shandong natives who had passed the imperial examinations to the Qilu Guild Hall.

After checking Lu Ying's residence, it was found that his clothes and luggage were all there, and his graduation project was basically completed. He had thoroughly investigated Guanghui Temple, but the number of several Yongye fields was blank.

“It seems he must have gone to investigate these questionable places.” Wang Kezhang pointed to the markings on his homework and told Su Lu, “He’s investigating the land properties of this Lama temple, saying that the land in the temple far exceeds the amount of permanent land stipulated by the imperial court.”

“The temples we investigated are the same,” several of his classmates said. “The records in the government’s register are inaccurate, and the temples are unlikely to tell us on their own. We have to find out the exact number ourselves, which is really too difficult.”

“We can only write an approximate number of acres or hectares, but Binyang is too meticulous and insists on finding out a specific number,” his classmates sighed.

After noting down the locations listed in the textbook, Su Lu said in a deep voice, "Let's go to Guo Guanzhuang!"

On the way out of the Qilu Guild Hall, Qian Ning arrived with his men and a dozen hunting dogs.

"Scholar Su, we've arrived." Qian Ning was so sensible; how could he possibly call Su Lu "godfather" in front of him?
"Thank you for your trouble, Commander Qian and everyone else." Su Lu politely cupped his hands in greeting.

"You're too kind, Scholar." The group of Imperial Guards hurriedly returned the greeting in a flustered manner. Their commander's godfather was a close confidant of the Emperor's alter ego, a powerful figure who could rival Liu Jin.

The newly appointed scholars felt a natural dread upon seeing the Imperial Guards in their flying fish robes, but Su Lu calmly said, "Losing one of the Emperor's disciples is a grave offense. We must seek help from the Imperial Guards and find him as soon as possible! Our abilities are insufficient..."

"Yes." The other scholars also agreed, nodding in agreement: "Saving lives is the most important thing."

The group set off immediately and arrived at Guogongzhuang, twenty miles southwest of the capital, half an hour later.

According to Lu Ying's investigation, most of the land here belongs to the temple property of Guanghui Temple.

But when the Imperial Guards summoned the local village head, the man vehemently denied it, saying, "That's not true, the land belongs to us."

"They're all yours?" Qian Ning sneered.

"Yes." The village chief shrank his neck.

"Bullshit!" Qian Ning cursed. "Who are you all? This place is only twenty miles from the capital, and you think you can own your own land? Dream on!"

The scholars all put their hands to their foreheads, but they knew he was telling the truth. The land in the capital and its suburbs had long been completely annexed. The imperial estates and the fields owned by nobles and meritorious officials occupied most of it, and the rest had long been divided up by eunuchs and temples.

Even when Emperor Xianzong wanted to grant land to his son, he had to find a place in Zhengding and Shunde...

The fact that the local official dares to claim this land as his own is blatant lying.

"Damn it, you want a beating, huh?!" The bearded man raised his riding crop, as if to lash out. "If you don't tell the truth, hang him up and beat him!"

After a practiced intimidation, the village head knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy. "I wouldn't dare! The monks instructed me to say that. We are all tenants of Guanghui Temple; not a single plot of land belongs to us!"

"Why did those lamas tell you to say that?" Qian Ning asked coldly.

"Because lately, people keep coming here asking us all sorts of questions, like who owns the land, how many acres it is, and how much rent we pay each year?" The village head, kneeling in the dust, answered tremblingly.
"The Buddha suspected that someone was trying to harm them, so he instructed us to keep it a secret..."

"Then why did you tell us?" Qian Ning asked.

"Because you're going to beat me up," the village chief said matter-of-factly. "Even the Buddha isn't as scary as the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

“Okay…” Qian Ning nodded, not expecting that this person was also a master of deception.

"Tell me, what did that person who was asking so many questions look like?" Su Lu asked in a deep voice. "He was tall, with a square face, dark skin, big eyes, and he was accompanied by two servants," the village elder answered honestly.

"Did he come yesterday?" Su Lu pressed.

"They came, then left," the village chief hurriedly replied.

"You're lying!" Qian Ning's eyes sharpened, and he said coldly, "Give me a beating!"

The bearded man stopped bluffing and lashed the village chief with his whip. In the summer heat, his clothes were thin, and one lash tore his skin open!

The village chief howled and rolled on the ground, but the bearded man showed no mercy. He rolled up his sleeves and slapped the chief repeatedly until the chief was scrambling and begging for mercy.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! That person was invited back to the temple by the Buddha!"

"Then why did you lie just now?" Qian Ning asked sternly.

"This... the Buddha forbids me to say it." The village chief cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Should we invite them or arrest them?" Su Lu asked in a deep voice.

“Yes… arrest him,” the village chief said dejectedly.

"Let's go, take us to Guanghui Temple!" Su Lu ordered.

"I wouldn't dare, Buddha will send me to work in the coal mines!" The village chief kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Spare me..."

"Enough with the nonsense! Do you believe I'd send your whole family to a brothel?" Qian Ning snapped.

~~
Half an hour later, at Guanghui Temple.

"What are you going to do?!"

"Get out of the way, this is the Western Depot's business!" The Imperial Guards pushed aside the lamas guarding the gate and escorted Su Lu and the others straight into the temple.

"Search!" Qian Ning gave the order, and the Imperial Guards immediately set off their dogs to search the temple, causing chaos in an instant.

"Om Mani Padme Hum!" With a utterance of the six-syllable mantra, a senior lama wearing a rooster-crested hat appeared before Su Luqian Ning and the others, surrounded by a group of junior lamas. His face darkened as he spoke:

"Our Guanghui Temple is under the protection of the Marquis of Jianchang. Please have your esteemed family leave immediately, lest you offend your reputation!"

"I don't care who's protecting you! You're suspected of kidnapping a newly appointed scholar!" Qian Ning slammed the barely recognizable village head to the ground and shouted, "Do you know this is rebellion? No marquis can protect you!"

The lamas, used to being fierce and domineering, actually tried to stop them, relying on Zhang Yanling's powerful backing. The head lama, however, shook his head slightly and said calmly:
“You’ve misunderstood, benefactor. That scholar only came to the temple for a cup of tea and left on his own afterward. He was definitely not in the temple.”

He paused for a moment, then added with renewed confidence, "Oh, right, I should also remind you all. Inside is the memorial tablet of the current emperor's maternal grandfather. If we continue to cause trouble like this, it might be detrimental to you all."

Upon hearing this, Qian Ning immediately backed down. Although he wasn't afraid of Zhang Yanling, he really didn't dare to offend the Empress Dowager...

"Godfather, this is a tricky situation. Should we reconsider?" he whispered in Su Lu's ear.

"I'm certain the person is in their hands!" Su Lu slowly shook his head and said resolutely, "Today, I want to see the person alive or dead!"

"Sigh." Seeing Su Lu's cold and resolute gaze, Qian Ning immediately dared not say another word.

However, after searching by various groups, no one could find Lu Ying.

"Are you satisfied now, benefactor? Please leave." The Grand Lama said with a cold smile, "Considering your eagerness to ask for help, if you stop here, we can let it go."

"You're not going to pursue this? I am!" Su Lu shouted, his tone unusually firm: "Qian Ning."

"exist!"

"Arrest everyone in this temple and interrogate them on the spot! I don't care what methods I use, pry their mouths open!" Su Lu ordered grimly.

"Yes!" Qian Ning had already warned Su Lu about the risks, so now he could only obey orders.

"Brother Zhuangyuan, won't this cause you trouble?" Wang Kezhang and the others asked in a low voice, worried.

"Once we find the person, there won't be any more trouble!" Su Lu squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"What if he really isn't here?" Wang Kezhang and the others asked.

“They know where he is even if he’s not here,” Su Lu said calmly. “You don’t need to worry about it, just keep an eye on him.”

Qian Ning glanced at Wang Kezhang and the others, thinking to himself, "They're all newly appointed Jinshi, but why are these guys so naive?"
Since their godfather has said so, that person must be in their hands, whether they like it or not...

"Xiao Qiang, show me everything you've got!" he roared at the bearded man. "We must force him to reveal the whereabouts of the scholar who passed the imperial examination!"

"Just watch, godfather! I guarantee they'll all spit it out!" The bearded man's eyes gleamed with excitement.

P.S. I'll definitely have to read the next chapter tomorrow...

(End of this chapter)